If you have been following my blog, beside being a fervent supporter of local children productions, I am also big on exposing my kids to the outdoor events like Cold Storage Kids Run, Spartan Race etc. In our day to day, my kids have little outdoor play time as they spend long hours in school and child care. By joining such fun run, we are “forced” to go outdoors and sweat it out on the weekend!

So the lure of Safari Zoo Run was too big to resist, especially to be running at my kids’ favourite place –  The Singapore Zoo! I would think that running at the zoo will bring running a whole new experience –even me as an adult was excited to be running for the first time at the zoo!

I wanted to bring along my DSLR to take photo of the run and of my kids but I decided to rely on my handphone and really run with the kids..ie not walk. And I had hopes that they will running so fast that I wouldn’t be fast enough to capture them. So I wanted to enjoy the run with my kids sans the photo-taking (of course i will still take some photos )

That was also the reason why I didn’t want to bring along the baby in the stroller, as I wanted the older  kids to really run and sweat it out. When small C is big enough to run with us, I will definitely bring him along!

I was contemplating whether to do the 5.5km or the 2.5km for the longest time. With small J in mind, I decided not to be too ambitious. Big J and Big C had attempted 5km run bef0re so I am sure they will push through the end but the longest small J has ever “run” was the 800m at the Cold Storage Kids Run last year. As I am definitely leaving the stroller at home, I do not wish to carry small J if he gives up half way, hence, I decided not to be too ambitious and opt for the  2.5km family dash as it is also our first time running at the zoo.

The race started at 9.30am which was a decent time to get the kids ready as the longer leg of the run (ie the 10km and the 5.5km started very much earlier). We decided to not drive to the zoo given that the open car park was closed for the race village and the starting point. We were worried that it will be difficult to get car park lots but on hind sight, we actually saw there was ample car park spaces at the multi storey car park when we arrived, so I think we can opt to drive for next  year’s run.

This year’s Safari Zoo Run theme was  Run for Wildlife.The run focuses on raising awareness for wildlife conservation with the introduction of 4 animal icons, namely Ah Meng the Orangutan, Chawang the Asian Elephant, Canola the Manatee and Sunny the Hornbill.  Each animal icon team supports an endangered wildlife species that we would like to raise awareness for. Each runner get to choose which icon they will be supporting!

This year, the participants get to choose between the 4 animal icons in deciding the division of funds. At the end of the race,  this run has helped to raised SGD 100,000 for wildlife conservation with #TeamAhMeng coming out tops , garnering additional funding support of SGD 40,000 for Sumatran orangutan  projects.

all raring to go!

every kid supporting a different animal icon

at the starting line!

we were blessed with beautiful weather!

off we go!

Throughout the race, the lure to stop and look at the animals was too huge! But I had to rally them to tell them, we can do that after the race!

they stopped as they spotted zebras!

a very good way to spend time as a family on a Saturday morning

We completed the run as a family within 25 minutes. Mightily proud of small J for persevering all the way and it was his longest run to date!

A close friend of my mine asked me if it’s worth it and I have yet to answer her. I thought I should do the review and gave her unbiased opinion here on this blog. For the price of the race slots for kids and adults, you not only get to enjoy a run , start the day early at the zoo(we finished the run by 10am) and we get to enjoy the zoo and river safari for free for the remaining part of the day – yes you could stay till the closing hours.

I do not think there is any other running events that offer free access to a Singapore attraction after the race. I say it is one of our most memorable visits to the zoo ever!  The participants of the 5.5km even got to run around the Night Safari in the day time (major envy!) Typically we will not arrive at the zoo so early but “thanks” to the run we are already at the zoo way before the opening hours. Then we did a quite zoom through before the public crowd and lots of photo ops and mascot throughout the zoo as part of the run! Its killing many birds with one stone! I am actually glad that there is a 2.5km race for family dash category as I personally feel 800m run is a tad too short for a run (most kids fun run) but 2.5km is a very good distance even for the very young to attempt a fun run! (think of it as a 30 to 45 minutes activity if 2.5km sounds too intimidating)

so proud of their finisher medal!

the mascots obliging the kids for an after race photo!

After the race, we decided to utilize our free entry to the River Safari (remember to not throw away the race bibs as they are the proof of entry to the River Safari). As the kids didn’t manage to see Jia Jia and Kai Kai during out last visit(we did go to the River Safari during Safari Boo, but we couldn’t access the panda enclosure as it was a late evening event), we decided to pay Jia Jia and Kai Kai a visit this time!

off we go to the river safari

We even took the opportunity to try the Amazon River Quest for the first time. Finally big C is tall enough to ride, but poor small J is not tall enough, he had to wait outside with daddy while I took big J and big C on the ride. I didn’t have much expectation of the cruise, but it really reminded me of some rides at the theme parks ie USS and Everland in Korea except the “exhibits” along the cruise weren’t robotic creatures but real animals! After we completed our maiden ride, we are offered a free re-ride too! At SGD5 for adult and SGD 3 for children, I must say it is totally worth the price.

We would love to stay longer at the zoo but big J had swim class in the afternoon, so we spend a good half of day before heading back home. It was a morning well spent for a 2.5km run and also a visit to the zoo and the river safari. For next year, I am definitely getting the older kids do the competitive kid dash now that they are familiar with experience of a run/race at the zoo!

I shall leave you with a video my small J running! Next year, he will be the big brother to rally small C to run!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.  No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are my own.